The prior art does reveal inventions of artificial fingernail tips. Most of these fingernail tips are natural in color and lack transparency demanded by today's women. These natural colored fingernail tips are typically made from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer. Additives like titanium dioxide are added to increase the opacity of these artificial fingernails. A fast curing cyanoacrylate glue is applied on the edge of this fingernail tip and held firmly on the natural fingernail for a few seconds. These fingernail tips are resilient, but they are not clear. This is the biggest impediment to today's women where fashion demands that nail art be done on a transparent fingernail tip.
The prior art mentioned below discusses translucent/opaque fingernail tips. The prior art also teaches methods of reinforcing these fingernail tips with acrylics. Matranga and Hokama in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,748 describe an artificial nail tip with a convex peripheral edge made from a thin plastic sheet in order to securely bond to the natural nail. These same inventors in U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,526 describe using a rapid drying glue to affix these artificial tips to natural nails. Sweet in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,095 discusses using a hardenable polymeric material over the natural and artificial portion of the nail to reinforce the artificial nailtip. Hokama in U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,720 discusses the design of artificial fingernail tips made of acetate resins, which are translucent. Roth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,740 discusses the novel design of nail tips that enhance structural integrity and reduces breaking, cracking, and dislodgment of the device and other disadvantages associated with the prior art. Reid in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,134 describes using linen over artificial nail tips attached to natural nails as means of reinforcing this system. Mann in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,305 describes using a fabric within a plastic sheet as a means of reinforcing an artificial fingernail tip. Mast in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,935 discusses using an artificial nail tip with slightly roughened texture at the front end and pigmented whitish distal end in order to simulate natural nail. Trematerra in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,892 discusses a recessed rear portion with a predisposed edge pattern, which facilitates more efficient and effective attachment to natural nails. Krupsky in U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,664 discusses the methodology of constructing artificial fingernails. Pruchnic, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,936 discuss graduated fingernail tips and their application to natural nails. Chang in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,027 discloses a method for forming a dual component artificial fingernail tip or French (pink and white) tips. In U.S. patent application 20010032654, Coker, et al., discuss the process for fabricating custom fit removable and reusable metal fingernails.
Though not mentioned in the prior art patents, clear fingernail tips do exist and are used by women to do nail art. However, these fingernail tips are less than desirable because they fog when cyanoacrylate glue is applied on the artificial fingernail. This phenomenon of fogging happens when there is wide disparity in refractive index (RI) between the artificial nail tip material and glue. This is not a problem with natural colored fingernail tips because they already are translucent or opaque. This phenomenon of fogging happens because the fingernail tip material is either ABS or polystyrene or polycarbonate. The glue that is used to affix this artificial fingernail onto natural nail belongs to a different family known as acrylates. The RI of cyanoacrylates is 1.45 while the RI of polystyrene is 1.59. The RI of polycarbonate is 1.58 and natural ABS is milky white. Moreover, ABS and polystyrene are brittle and they have poor mechanical properties. Additives can be added to enhance the mechanical properties but these additives do little to improve optical properties. Clear fingernail tips made from polycarbonate exhibit good mechanical properties but they have a tendency to yellow in the presence of air. Applying cyanoacrylate glue to the edge of this fingernail tip will create a fog like appearance due to disparity in RI.
Clear nail tips of unknown material sold by EZ Nails do not fog when cyanoacrylate glue is applied. But they are not resilient and exhibit poor mechanical properties i.e. they are prone to cracking or breaking upon a slight impact.
Advances in the design of artificial fingernail tips and the methodology to attach these tips to natural fingernails have significantly reduced the incidences of mold or fungus that occur between the natural and artificial nail. However, there still exists a finite chance of getting this condition. If left untreated, mold or fungus can cause irreversible damage to the natural nail. Fogging of the artificial nail impedes the visual determination of the onset of mold or fungus which will be noticed only at a much later stage.
As described above, fingernail tips are used to improve the aesthetic appearance of the wearer's fingernails. The following protocol is normally used for applying these nail tips.
Natural nail is slightly roughed with a nail file.
Artificial fingernail tips come in various sizes and shapes in order to fit shape and size of natural nails. The right sized tip is selected such that when applied will give an appearance of a long “natural” nail.
Cyanoacrylate glue is then applied on the edge of concave portion of proximal end.
This tip is then quickly pressed firmly against the natural nail. Care should be taken to see that there are no air bubbles trapped when the glue is cured. These air bubbles are a source of mechanical failure and breeding spaces for molds/fungus as these crevices can trap moisture.
The edge of the artificial nail tip is then filed and blended with the natural nail.
This step is optional. Apply acrylic to the artificial and natural fingernail to provide an additional layer of reinforcement at the seam of the natural and artificial fingernails.
In the protocol mentioned above, the glue starts curing as soon as it comes into contact with the air. Hence it is critical that this procedure be carried out as speedily as possible.